Wandless in Seattle
by shadowcaster01
Summary: Sirius falls through the veil in the Department of Mysteries and wakes up as Padfoot in an alleyway somewhere in the city. Unsure of how he got there, he attempts to make his way home, running into a few misadventures along the way - including a strange muggle woman...
1. Chapter 1

_Hey everyone!_

_I know that you were probably hoping this would be an update of my crossover story Old Truths New Beginnings, but it isn't. I wanted to take on something a little different whilst I organized the new chapter for that story._

_This is the first challenge I've ever done on this site, and it sounded really interesting to me. I'd like to thank LookAPuppyMadeYouLOOK for the idea of this storyline and hope that it turns out just as good as it potentially sounded when I came across it myself._

_This will be the second fic I've written with the fifth year battle scene in it, but that's the only resemblance this story will have (page 708-710 OOTP, if you're wondering). I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes, so enjoy…_

**_edit: _**_For some strange reason, when I uploaded my chapter, it kept deleting Look's username - sorry about that._

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**…..**

To Vanish

"**Harry, take Neville, grab the prophecy and run!" Sirius yelled, dashing to meet Bellatrix. **

**Harry did not see what happened next. Kingsley swayed across his field of vision, battling with the pock-marked and no longer masked Rookwood; another jet of green light flew over Harry's head as he launched himself towards Neville.**

It was chaos. Spells were hurtling around the room, students, alumni and death eaters ducking, dodging and shielding as they went.

**Malfoy was blasted off his back. As Harry scrambled up again he looked around and saw Malfoy smash into the dais on which Sirius and Bellatrix were now dueling. Malfoy aimed his wand at Harry and Neville again, but before he could draw breath to strike, Lupin had jumped between them.**

"**Harry, round up the others and go!"**

**Harry seized Neville by the shoulder of his robes and lifted him bodily onto the first tier of stone steps; Neville's legs twitched and jerked and would not support his weight; Harry heaved again with all the strength he possessed and they climbed another step –**

**A spell hit the stone bench at Harry's heel; it crumbled away and he fell back to the step below. Neville sank to the ground, his legs still jerking and thrashing, and he thrust the prophecy into his pocket.**

"**Come on!" said Harry desperately, hauling at Neville's robes. "Just try and push with your legs -"**

The prophecy flew out into the air and smashed into the floor; in the midst of everything else going on, only Harry and Neville were aware of its destruction. Dumbledore's sudden appearance changed the outcome of the battle completely. The death eaters retreated in shock, leaving only a small handful where there was once an imposing force. The chaos died down slightly as the headmaster began to capture some of their opponents as they tried to flee. After the rest of the room's occupants stopped where they stood, Sirius and Bellatrix were the last ones fighting, completely oblivious to everything else.

"**Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.**

He was laughing at her, wand drawn as he dodged her curses. Most of them flew by harmlessly, into the floor or on the walls. The next thing he knew, Sirius was hit by a stunner and sent careening backwards into a strange archway on the dais behind him. There was nothing he could do to stop it; he was too surprised to do anything, really. Sirius idly noted the expression of horror on Harry's face; it was just a moment, and a fatal one, he'd soon discover. The last things he was aware of were his cousin's terrible screeching, Harry's yells of distress, and the oddly plain colored ceiling as he toppled into the veil and out of sight.

"**SIRIUS!"**

* * *

**…**

Sirius awoke to find himself lying on cold, wet concrete, in the middle of a dark alleyway. He could hear the scratches and scrambling of rodents somewhere behind him, possibly in a nearby dumpster. If the foul stench that assaulted his nose was correct, he was probably out near the back of a restaurant somewhere. Old, moldy bread, rank off-cuts of meat, amongst various other terrible smells originated in that direction. There was also the tell-tale odor of car exhaust coming from the streets beyond, amongst tires screeching, horns honking and a chorus of shouts somewhere in the distance.

He glanced around, confused. Everything appeared to be off, although he wasn't entirely certain just _how_ yet. It was a strange feeling he had in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't quite shake off. Sirius thought back to the moments that had transpired before he'd come to: Bellatrix's curse, falling and then nothingness.

_But, how did I get _here_?_ Sirius asked himself quietly. The department of Mysteries was deep underground, and the whole ministry building was protected against apparation in or out of it, so the question of his sudden appearance in the middle of the city – above ground – was puzzling, to say the least.

Sirius shook his head, determined to examine that particular problem later. The more immediate issue of where he was at the moment demanded his attention. As soon as that was solved, he'd return to headquarters and assure the Order that he was fine, and just as confused as they were by his sudden disappearance. He hoped that it hadn't been too long since he'd been stunned by his cousin, Sirius didn't want to worry Harry too much; he knew that his godson was the type to take the blame - and responsibility – on his own shoulders. It was too much for someone as young as fifteen, although that didn't seem to stop the kid from placing himself in some extraordinarily dangerous situations.

_Hopefully this will all clear up soon._

He stood, and was bewildered when he found everything to be much higher than he was used to. Sirius started forward, taking a few seconds to realize the full extent of his situation; somehow he'd ended up in his animagus form while he was unconscious. It was absurd; he'd never heard of such a thing occurring before. _Well, here's a first time for everything, I guess,_ he mused. _Strange things seem to be the norm these days…_

He shook out his fur subconsciously, ignoring how the water shot off in several directions. He knew he was going to smell terrible later, he always did after it rained. It wasn't that much of a problem; Sirius knew that he could easily change back at will and he'd be able to apparate back to his house in no time. Given the more recent events, rather than prolong his return, Sirius deemed it appropriate to leave at that very moment, if only to reassure Harry that he was okay.

After a few moments, Sirius opened his eyes again. Taking in his surroundings a second time, as well as his reflection in a small puddle close by, Sirius was disheartened to find that nothing had changed; he was still a dog, with no idea where he was or who he could contact. He'd left his mirror upstairs in his room, and his wand was still in his pocket and currently out of reach. He slumped back down onto the ground with his head on his paws, miserable, his canine emotions taking over.

For the meantime, until he could come up with a good enough plan, Sirius decided that it was best for him to remain where he was. It would be unlikely that anyone would come across him in such a small out of-the-way spot. Maybe he'd find someone familiar on his way home…

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**….**

_I know this isn't very long, but it's just the prologue. It'll pick up its pace later as it goes along. I hope it managed to capture your interest._

_Until next time, peace out!_

_Shadowcaster01_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey everyone,_

_Sorry it's been so long since I updated for this side story, Old Truths seemed to demand a lot of attention. While I'm still racking my brains on what scene to continue it with, I guess I'll try to continue this one for a while…_

_Thanks to anyone who read the last chapter, and to LookAPuppy and Guest for their reviews. Hopefully this story turns out as good as you all hope._

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**…..**

**The Alleyway**

Sirius was woken up rather abruptly to shouting and loud crashing somewhere nearby. He opened his eyes as a back door leading into the alley burst open; a small group of people standing around the door grabbed whoever it was that was leaving and rammed them up against the opposite brick wall. The shouting stopped for the moment, and the seemingly calm voices that followed couldn't hide that the confrontation taking place was certainly not about anything pleasant. Sirius was sure that a dog would be unable to intervene in any useful way, so he was forced to hang back behind the nearest dumpster and remain out of sight.

"We wanted to collect our money," a rough voice began, seemingly unconcerned about the smaller person's constant struggling to free themselves.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" The reply was frantic.

"Your friend told us that you could help them out with the debt they owe us. Was he lying?"

"I don't know –"

The commotion continued for quite some time, and the sounds that came to the wizard's ears made him regret being in his current situation. Whoever it was at the end of the alleyway cried out in time to a loud crack; then everything suddenly went silent. Hurried splashes started next, and grew fainter as the attackers made their escape. Sirius waited a few more minutes in case someone was still hanging around, then he carefully padded over to take a quick look.

There was blood, and lots of it. The victim couldn't have been any older than twenty, although currently the youthful face was obscured by a very bloody and broken nose. He was still alive, although for how long was still uncertain; there was a growing red stain on the front of the young man's shirt. Sirius couldn't leave him alone like this, so he edged closer as the other tried sit up straight. The man seemed so focused on remaining conscious, he started when Sirius nudged him gently, whining softly to get his attention. A shaky hand ran through his fur, and Sirius nudged him again.

"H-Hi there, boy," the voice quavered. "What are you doing here?"

Sirius didn't like the situation; this boy was going to die if he couldn't get any help soon. _Why hadn't anyone heard what went on?_ He whined again, looking for any other injuries. The blood wasn't gushing out too much, so Sirius hoped it had missed any vital organs. The boy next to him shivered, teeth chattering; the animagus cuddled up to him, trying to help him retain body heat.

"You're such a nice dog," the young man whispered, still petting Sirius' fur.

It was really unfair in this one time when he could help save a life; Sirius had no access to his wand, and no way to communicate with any who would. He wasn't an expert with healing magic, but at least the wizard could have used some minor spells to help ease the pain, even fix that broken nose…

As the young man's eyes began to roll back, he barked sharply at him. _Don't sleep! Stay awake, boy! _Sirius nudged him when it didn't gain any response. _Come on; wake up, kid! _Since he really didn't have anything left to lose, Sirius kept barking. Hopefully someone would hear him and find help. This kid couldn't die like this here; not when he was still so young…

Sirius barked for well over an hour and wasn't sure if a dog was capable of losing their voice or not. Since there was the possibility that he'd need it again later for another round, he decided to rest for a while. Sirius turned to the boy he'd been watching over and nudged his face gently before touching his nose to the other's neck. He snuffed in relief when he felt a pulse – weak, but still there. After shoving his snout against the boy's nose, Sirius was again happy to note that he was still breathing as well.

Apart from the two notable injuries, the boy seemed to be okay. Sirius whined softly and nuzzled him again, wondering vaguely what Harry was going through at that moment. He hoped his godson was alright; the Order had arrived in time to help, but there were still a number of death eaters hanging around in the short time before he had disappeared from the room.

Sirius shook his head; this wasn't the time to dwell on what had happened prior to him waking in this alley. The current situation was of more importance. He wished there was someone walking by that would be curious enough to find out what he was barking about. Even he knew if an injury like this was left untreated, the boy would have a much harder time recovering than he would otherwise. The wizard nudged him and whined again, almost expecting to wait overnight for someone to arrive on the scene.

It hadn't been too much of a wait when a group of women came across Sirius and the young man. The dog was just drifting off to sleep when he heard screams coming from somewhere above his head. Three looked like they were ready to bolt while two of their friends grabbed the boy to check him over. The one nearest to him seemed to be giving out orders.

"Katie, call 911!"

Katie jumped at her name. "Is he dead?" She asked, pulling out a phone.

The second girl closest to him shook her head. "He's still alive – but barely, I think."

The other girls moved closer. A brunette reached out to Sirius and stroked his fur.

"What about this dog?" Sirius whined in response, nudging the boy again.

"I think he's stayed with this guy the whole time, haven't you boy?"

Sirius looked up at the girls and whined again. _Thank Merlin; at least he'll get help now. _ In the background he could hear the girl Katie speaking to someone else.

"…Yes, we're in an alleyway off the steakhouse, opposite the market." There was a pause. "I think he's been here for at least an hour or two, but I'm not sure. He's unconscious, so I can't ask him right now." She turned to her friends. "They're sending down an ambulance right now; they want us to watch him 'till then."

There was nothing else for the dog to do but lie down and wait. The girls were talking quietly amongst themselves to pass the time, and it seemed as if it would be an eternity for this 'ambulance' to arrive. Having been up for most of the day, and the night before, Sirius found himself drifting off to sleep once again.

* * *

…**..**

Sirens blaring somewhere nearby woke the dog with a jolt. In an unconscious canine reflex, he began barking. The girls from before pat his head and murmured quiet words in his ears, and it took Sirius a few minutes to remember where he was. _The boy!_ He jumped suddenly, turning around to find him. Another group of people were currently pushing the man away on a large stretcher, and he found himself subconsciously whining in sympathy for the injuries he'd received earlier. _Hope he makes it out alright…_

Another man crouched down in front of him, obscuring his view of the ambulance and the stretcher going into it.

"Hey there, boy," he pat the dog's head gently. "Where's your owner?" Sirius kept silent, wondering where this was going.

"I don't think he has one, officer," one of the girls piped up. "He isn't wearing a collar."

The wizard snorted, trying to roll his eyes. _Owner? Why would I need an owner? _

"Don't worry," the officer said, glancing at the young women. "We'll take him somewhere safe. Thank you for answering our questions; if you remember anything else, don't hesitate to contact us." He pulled a card out of his pocket as he spoke, handing it to one of the girls.

The group began to move away. "We'll do that, sir."

The man scratched at Sirius' ears absently as several other officers approached him. "Are we heading back to the station now?"

"We are, sir. What are we going to do with the dog; did you want us to call the shelter?"

The man paused, considering. Sirius whined. _Don't send me to the pound, I can't find the Order if you do that!_ If he had been able to go through his transformation, than he wouldn't really care where he ended up; if he had been able to go through it, he wouldn't even be in this situation, and that boy would be fine, albeit a bit confused. He'd also be back at Grimmauld Place, reassuring Harry that he was just fine, and would attempt to never worry his godson that much ever again…

"I don't think that will be necessary," he finally replied. "I'll take him with me tonight; after that will depend…"

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…**.**

_I know that it's kind of short; I'll try to put up a longer one for chapter three. Thanks for your patience, and I hope that you all enjoy this to the end. _

_Until next time,_

_Peace out!_

_Shadowcaster01_


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